A ghost caught on camera. This tape was given to us with no explanation by a person who wished to remain anonymous so we can only present it “as is”. It is up to you to decide whether you believe it to be genuine or not. Let us know in the comments what you think, real, fake, anomaly or otherwise.

This paranormal activity footage was found when the owner of a security camera was reviewing his tape as his shed had been broken into during the evening. What he appears to have caught on tape is an anomaly or ghost crossing the screen from left to right. This film was recorded in Derby, England around March 2010.

Continuing our countdown of the top five haunted house horror movies of all time:

2. Poltergeist (1982) Dir: Tobe Hopper

Carol Anne Touching The TV

Everyone’s favourite director of power tool related massacring films knocked it out of the park with one of the most recognisable family haunted house films, Poltergesist.

The film follows a family as they move into a new house unfortunately built on an Indian burial ground-I’d be asking for a new conveyancing solicitor! The ghost like presence in the house focuses on the youngest child played by Heather O’Rourke who unfortunately passed away some years later.

The tension is built methodically with minimal activity at first building as the house takes hold of the family. Where Poltergeist is so effective is the use of a family unit, the threat of the destruction of the family through the torment of the spirit is every parents nightmare especially with centring the attention on the younger child, Carol Anne.

The film, tightly directed by Hooper became the subject of much speculation that the films producer, Steven Spielberg had actually took over directing duties. An unfair comparison when looking at Texas Chainsaw Massacre and how tension is handled in that film compared to Poltergeist, both have a lingering under tension, an ongoing sense of imminent destruction and a break down and rebuilding of a family unit. If anything the slickness of the look of the film makes it look more Hollywood when perhaps it would have been even scarier had Hooper done it on a no budget.

Either way Poltergeist remains the pinnacle for haunted house films in modern Hollywood both for its handling of rising drama and its use of the archetypal American family to engage the audience.

A good video of paranormal activity which the owner caught on tape after several disturbing unexplained incidents left them no choice but to try and record what was going on. Believing their home to be haunted, they rigged a camera and the footage they found shows a quite clear shadow or ghost entering a room before vanishing.

This is another great find from the family who live in the North of England. The camera was left to run over night and the father found this footage the next morning. It shows paranormal activity that has been caught on tape and has evidence of a ghost, poltergeist or other entity playing with a ball. Unfortuantely, the camera is on it’s last legs and the sound has not been recorded, also due to the state of the camera, the footage has had to be lightened in order for the full picture to be seen properly.

Perhaps an odd choice for a haunted house film in view of the weight of the talent involved. Stanley Kubrick was coming off a decade of redefining the historical epic and creating one of the most controversial films of all time. Similarly Jack Nicholson had produced an Oscar winning performance for One Flew Over the Cuckoos nest so what would happen when these two heavyweights got together?

First off there are several interpretations of The Shining and to view it simply as a haunted house film is perhaps short sighted but the overarching story is that of a family in a hotel where spooky goings on are taking place.

Jack’s descent into madness is surrounded by those tormented spirits that inhabit the hotel and in the end it is conversation with the spirit of Grady that push Jack to the murderous climax.

The beauty of The Shining is many fold, the graceful camerawork, the maze like corridors of the hotel echoed by the maze in the garden, the subtle but continuous ratcheting up of the tension. Many people view it as a horror film secondary to a Stanley Kubrick film, there’s nothing wrong with that but next time you view it just spend time and really think about the horror elements in the film – the witch in the bedroom, the creepy twin girls, the blood spewing lift. The Shining is a masterpiece of modern horror, a psychological study of a mans fragile psyche, a critique of the breakdown of the family unit but most of all a damn scary ghost film.

Part of our infrequent series detailing the top five greatest ever haunted house movies.

4.

Amityville II: The Possession (1982) Dir: Damiano Damiani

Still from Amityville 2

Everybody’s favourite haunted house movie franchise is back! The sequel (or rather prequel) to 1979’s The Amityville Horror recounts the story of what happened to the original family who moved into the real life New York house. Built on a site of an Indian Burial ground the family start having strange occurrences round the house, nothing to get too alarmed about – every new house has it’s faults. The real problems start happening when the oldest son, Sonny starts to hear voices through his Walkman leading to him possession by an unnamed demon. All good stuff!

The film was helmed by Italian Exploitationer Damiano Damiani, usually at home with Spaghetti Westerns or Euro-cop thrillers which seems an odd choice but what he brings is that Italian style that makes the film feel a lot more raw and certainly a lot more close to the bone that the original Hollywood film. The film centres more around Sonny and his relationship with the spirit than it does the house and it’s grip over the family but this leads to a more interesting dynamic held together by Jack Magner who plays Sonny, strangely he only had one other bit part in 1984’s Firestarter after this.

The film looks nowhere near as slick as the 79 version and jump out of your seat scares are few and far between but the impending sense of dread as the family unit begins to disintegrate is nail tearing stuff. Where the film loses pace is three quarters through where we get into the legal ramblings of why Sonny did what he did but what we have to consider is this is based on an actual case and to leave out the follow up to the incident would seem inappropriate (no matter how far stretched the truth is).

A lot of people would argue that the original film is a superior film and it is true to an extent, certainly technically and narratively but all good haunted house films should suck you in and ratchet up the tension rather than opting for cheap I Know what you did Last Summer scares, in this case Amityville II stands head and shoulders above it’s counterparts.

Caught on tape is a ghost shadow moving across a living room wall. A brilliant capture of paranormal activity happening.

This is the last in the series (for now, at least) from the family that live in Northern England. This supernatural occurrence happened during the night. Due to all the happenings that have taken place in their home the father had taken to occasionally setting up a camera at night in different parts of the house. This footage is from one of those recordings. Enjoy.